Fate
by Cole224
Summary: Chris helps save Wyatt...and rights a few other wrongs. Chris/Harry
1. Chapter 1

This is set both in the unchanged future before Chris went back and in the past just before the season six finale.

This chapter has some very, very light slash in it.

I don't own Harry Potter or Charmed.

_San Francisco, 2026_

"I'm not so sure about this," Chris said with a grimace. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Of course you are," the other boy answered with a roll of his green eyes. He was leaning back in his own chair and watching Chris. "I thought you said you knew the spell would work."

"It's not that. I am sure the spell will work. The books mine just as much as it is his. It'll come when I call it. That's not what I'm unsure of." At the raised eyebrow he got in return, Chris stood from the table and paced the small room. "I'm just…I'm not so sure I can keep this from them when I do go back."

"So, don't."

"Harry…" Chris abruptly dropped back down in his seat. "I can't tell them. I mean, what if it changes something for the worse-"

"That's not why you don't want to tell them who you really are," Harry interrupted him.

"Maybe not. Maybe I'm just afraid I won't be able to pull it off if they do know. Maybe I'm just afraid I won't be able to focus." He paused. "There's another issue."

"No, there's not," Harry said with an air of finality in his voice. "We've already discussed this."

"It's not right," Chris insisted, not for the first time. "It's not right what happened to you or to him."

"You can't change what happened to me. Chris, I have to go to Hogwarts. I have to. If I don't, you saving Wyatt will be useless."

"Right. You're the only one who can do it." Chris wasn't completely convinced. He'd heard the story several times and knew _why._

Harry frowned at his skepticism but stood anyway and Chris followed suit. "The tour should be starting."

"Yeah." Chris glanced over at him. "You know, changing Wyatt's future changes ours too." This was something both Harry and Chris had avoided discussing.

"I know." Harry smiled. "Don't worry. We'll meet each other again. It has to happen. It's meant to happen."

Chris turned to him and put his hands on the sides of Harry's face. "It better be," he said and kissed Harry softly.

Harry smiled into the kiss. "We should go," he said when Chris pulled back.

"Yeah."

Xxxxxxxxx

_May, 2004_

Chris orbed straight into the backyard. It was late. His mom, Paige and Phoebe had finally gone to bed. They had, along with Leo and Gideon, been working on a way to get him back to the future and were pretty confident that the potion they'd made would work. If it did, he'd been gone in a few days. He had to do this first.

He'd been around there often since coming back to the past and it was beyond weird speaking to a four year old Harry but it was worth it. Harry trusted him, believed him.

Sure that the other three people who lived in the house were fast asleep, he orbed into the kitchen and silently made his way to where he knew Harry was sleeping. As quietly as possible, he opened the door to the tiny closet.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Still torturing yourself?" The voice came from behind Cole and he turned. He'd dropped in on the sisters from time to time and he knew who the boy standing before him was.

"What are you doing here?" Cole asked, gaining his composure quickly. "I am pretty sure you don't belong here."

"Seeing as how I'm not dead yet." Chris shrugged. "I don't have a lot of time. I used a spell to get here and if my mom or aunts find my body up in the attic, they're going to freak."

"And why are you here? If you came to lecture me about past crimes or to warn me away from them…" He spread his arms. "I think the girls took care of that."

"But you do get out," Chris said. "I know you still drop in on them. You know who I am, where I'm from. You will get out. It'll be a few years but you do get out."

"Ah. So, you've come to tell me about crimes I haven't committed yet?" Cole guessed.

"No, actually. I came to speed up the process," Chris answered with a grin. Cole crossed his arms and there was just a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"You want to get me out? Why? So the girls can vanquish me again? Then wouldn't you be right back where you started?"

"No…" Chris sighed. "Look, like I said before I really don't have lot of time. Paige and Phoebe's sleeping habits aren't exactly normal sometimes and I really don't want to have to explain this to them. I'm here to talk about Lily Potter."

Cole straightened and his eyes narrowed. "Lily Potter."

"Yeah, I've heard the story, you know? A few of years ago, after Phoebe faked your vanquish and you thought you'd never see her again…and then there was Lily, who thought her husband, James, was dead after a raid. You guys hooked up, didn't you?"

"How do you know about that? I never told anyone." And Cole wasn't looking suspicious anymore, just angry.

"Doesn't matter how I know. What matters is what happened after that. Harry got some of it from a wizard that was there. Said James wasn't actually dead and they got him back. Lily and James got back together-"

"And the point of this story is?" Cole asked, irritated.

"The point is Harry. He's Lily's son. I don't know if she knew or not. I don't know if she told James but they were going to raise Harry even though he wasn't James son. They were good people, both of them and if Lily did tell James, he didn't hold it against Harry or her." Chris met Cole's gaze and he saw the stunned look in Cole's eyes.

"You're saying that I…" Cole trailed off and shook his head, forcing himself out of the shock. "Why are you telling me this? I'm dead, remember? Stuck here for eternity. And if these people are really good and willing to raise the kid…"

"No. I'm telling you this because James and Lily Potter are dead, Cole. I'm telling you this because you need to save your son from spending his childhood in the care of Lily's sister and her husband, who will hate him for no other reason than the fact that he is magical."

"You think it's better that I raise him?" Cole asked incredulously. "I don't know if you know my history, kid, but I'm not exactly a role model."

"You were in my future." That stopped Cole and Chris gave a half smile. "Like I said before you do get out of here. And I do know your history. I know you never wanted to become the Source. I know you only took in the hollow to save the girls and it backfired on you. I know all those powers you got from the wasteland drove you insane. I also know that when given half a chance, you are a good person and I have a way to get you out of here and to restore your balance."

"My balance?" Cole asked with a wary look in his eyes.

"Belthazor. You were right before, Cole. Phoebe never should have stripped you of him. It was what allowed the Source to take you over. Belthazor was always supposed to be a part of you. You were born with that demon."

"And you have that kind of power?" Cole asked skeptically. "You have the power to pull me out of limbo and restore something I lost nearly three years ago?"

"Not by myself. There's…someone who owes me a favor. According to him, this is doable as a payback. There's some things I need to tell you first."

"Like what?" Cole still looked skeptical.

"I put a spell on Harry. It hides his identity from everyone. Mom and her sisters used it one time. It fooled everyone, including the demons. I did make a promise to Harry that I have to keep, though. It'll only hide him until the right time."

"The right time?"

Chris nodded. "I'll tell you everything later. Right now, I need your agreement on this."

Cole took a few steps closer to him. "I have revived Belthazor before, you know? That did not end well."

"You were different. Besides you didn't just revive Belthazor. You also killed Paige. If there is something I know, it's that finding Paige is what helped Mom and Phoebe the most after Prue died."

"How do you know that?"

Chris shrugged. "They told me." Cole turned from him and Chris sighed. "Look, I have seen the future and I know who you are. I've seen you with Harry and I am telling you…you have to do this, Cole. You _can't _let him grow up with those people."

Chris let out a relieved smile when Cole turned back and thought that his Harry would be pissed at him for interfering but he just could not let these kind of injustices stand.

Days later, Chris Halliwell died in front of his father. Still, he faded away with a sense that he had at least succeeded. His father would save Wyatt and he had saved Harry and Cole years of pain.

First chapter and, yes, I know it has a lot of unanswered questions. Like who helped Chris get Cole out of limbo but if anyone's interested in this fic that will be answered later.


	2. Chapter 2

So, most of this chapter is from Cole's point of view. And I do want to say that he does still love Phoebe. That was proved during Seven Year Witch.

Cole tilted his head as he stared at the clown. "Kids like this kind of stuff right?" He asked the four year old in his arms. Harry didn't seem to be enjoying it very much. He was sure the kid could talk. Kids could talk at four…but he hadn't tried yet except to ask for Chris and Cole had no idea what to tell him about that one. Could you explain time travel to a four year old? Or death?

Cole tried to suppress the uprising of guilt when he thought about it. He owed Chris Halliwell a hell of a lot and he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to repay that. He'd done some digging and found out what had happened to the boy that had released him from limbo and put the four year old in his arms.

Harry rested his head on Cole's shoulder, burying his face there and Cole sighed. It had only been a few months. Maybe the fair was a bad idea. He just…wasn't sure what he was doing. He had no idea how to talk to Harry.

He was sure that Chris had told Harry who he was and Cole had briefly seen Chris with Harry and knew that Harry trusted Chris. Cole couldn't help feeling like he was letting them both down.

"Alright, buddy. I guess we should get out of here," Cole said finally. Harry had fallen asleep on his shoulder and Cole frowned. Had he missed the whole 'nap time' thing? Cole turned, intending to get out of the very public place and ran straight into someone.

"Oh! Sorry about that," a very, very familiar voice said.

"No problem," Cole just managed before he looked up, right into the brown eyes of his ex-wife. She smiled at him.

"Somebody's tired, huh?" She said. She shifted the small baby in her arms, asleep as well, and Cole stared at the little boy a moment.

"Yeah…" Cole blinked and turned his gaze back to hers. "I should go. Get him in bed." He didn't wait for a response, instead walking away quickly, leaving Phoebe frowning after him.

He waited until he was out of public view before letting out the breath he'd been holding. Well, at least he knew that Chris' spell to hide his identity had worked.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Cole watched Harry sleep. He was unable to himself after his little encounter with Phoebe earlier that day. It was a lot more difficult…seeing her as he was. When he'd been in limbo, he'd accepted it, accepted that he was going to spend eternity there, that he'd never get to be close to her again. This was different…and more painful.

He shook his head and exited the room that Harry was sleeping in. It would be smarter for him to leave San Francisco. Living in the same city as the girls was dangerous for him but he wouldn't leave. It was one of the things that Chris had asked of him and he intended on keeping the promises he'd made. It wouldn't completely repay the debt he owed Chris but it was the least he could do.

He also would not start down the destructive path he had when he'd made it out of the wasteland. Phoebe had been the only thing he'd been living for at that time but she wasn't anymore. He had promises to keep now and a child to take care of.

He couldn't go back. Not anymore.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"You like…cartoons?" Cole asked, glancing sideways at Harry, who was sitting next to him on the couch. Harry, of course didn't answer. Cole turned the station anyway. Harry kept his distance from Cole and Cole could understand that.

Chris had told him about the people that Harry had lived with before. He'd explained how Harry had been treated in that place. A large part of Cole wanted to go visit them, to let Belthazor lose on the people who had mistreated the child sitting next to him.

At least there was one good thing. Despite the fact that he would have to keep suppressing Belthazor again, having the demon back made him feel…whole again. When he'd been stripped of Belthazor, he'd kind of felt like he was missing something and he'd been completely lost. And after acquiring all those powers in the wasteland? That was like spinning out of control. He could practically _feel _them taking him under and he _hadn't _been able to control it. It had driven him completely insane.

Cole stood from the couch after a moment. "Hungry?" He asked the boy who only stared up at him. Cole sighed and knelt in front of him. "It's okay to ask for things." Harry just fidgeted in response and Cole frowned a little.

"Look, I know I'm not doing so hot at this parenting thing but I promise, I'm not going to hurt you for anything. Come on." Cole held out a hand and was relieved when Harry finally took it and followed him into the kitchen.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Here you go," Cole said, holding up the small blue backpack to the five year old.

"Do I have to go?" Harry asked, taking it from Cole. He'd been talking a lot more and Cole was grateful for that. It had taken awhile.

"Hey, it'll be fine. You'll see kids your age there. I even went and got the list of things you'll need." He held up a piece of paper and grinned. Harry didn't return the grin.

"What if they don't like me?" He asked now.

"Why wouldn't they like you?" Cole asked with a frown.

"Cause I'm a freak," Harry repeated the words his aunt and uncle had said to him many times.

"You're not a freak. You're just…different and trust me, it's not so bad," Cole said, sitting on the couch beside Harry. "I'm different. You think I'm a freak?"

"No," Harry answered after a moment.

"And if you ever need me, just call. I'll hear you."

Harry nodded and abruptly stood on the couch and hugged Cole. "Thanks, Dad."

Cole blinked and then a smile broke out on his face. "No problem, kid."

Xxxxxxxxx

Cole idly made breakfast. It was something he'd learned to do since Harry had been living with him and he could at least say that he had gotten better at it. He was slightly worried about when Harry would develop whatever powers he had. It should be around this time.

Chris had told him that he wouldn't show signs of his wizard half until he was about nine but Cole knew the powers he had to of inherited from Cole would show up sooner.

Cole sighed, placed the food on the kitchen island, opened the paper…and stopped short. He had opened it straight to the obituaries and three pictures jumped out at him, making him freeze.

The writing below the pictures was pretty simple and to the point. Cole stared at the pictures, unable to move.

"Dad?"

Cole blinked and looked away at his paper. Harry, already in his school clothes, got himself up on one of the chairs.

"Hey, buddy." He shook himself, forced himself to act normal and put one of the plates in front of Harry. He watched his son eat numbly.

Xxxxxxxxx

Phoebe weaved her way through the crowd in the manor, past the tables that held pictures of Piper and Paige and towards her own table.

She saw a lot of people that she knew, most from the newspaper. A lot of people were old friends of Piper's that she'd lost touch with because of her charmed duties.

Phoebe stopped when she got near her table. There was one man standing there that she did not recognize. He was tall with blond hair. Phoebe chewed her lip and searched her memory for the man but came up empty. But the way he looked…

Xxxxxxxxx

Cole stood stiffly at the table with Phoebe's picture sitting on it. He shouldn't have come. If staying in San Francisco was dangerous, it was nothing to actually being in the manor.

Cole held back a bitter laugh. Except it didn't matter, did it? There was nobody left to discover him. The sisters and Leo were dead. His and Phoebe's relationship had gone sour long ago but that didn't erase the feelings. He'd spent entirely too long completely devoted to her. Love like that didn't just disappear.

"How did you know her?"

Cole only glanced briefly over at the woman standing next to him. He was not interesting in engaging in small talk with a stranger.

"Doesn't matter," he stated after a moment. He turned without saying anything else and starting towards the door, brushing past the woman.

Xxxxxxxxx

Phoebe jerked when the man started away, when their shoulders brushed and she was immediately thrown into a premonition. She gasped when she came out of it and stared after the man. He hadn't broken his stride, hadn't noticed her gasp.

Phoebe stood still for a minute, eyes wide, staring after him before she shook herself and went to find her sisters.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Harry giggled as he ran around the couch and Cole couldn't help but to laugh as he chased the boy. Harry had loosened up a lot when he realized that Cole wasn't going to be anything like his aunt and uncle and he wasn't afraid when Cole finally did catch him.

Cole swung him around a few times before collapsing back on the couch. "Alright. Go get your shoes. We'll go to the park."

"The park. Yay!" Harry clambered off Cole and ran towards his room.

"Yay," Cole repeated with a smile, raising one hand. He dropped his head back after a moment. It had been a couple of weeks since he'd found out about Phoebe's death. There had been a time when her death would have completely destroyed him but now…

"Come on, Dad!" Harry yelled excitedly, running back into the room. He grabbed Cole's hand and pulled.

"Alright, alright." He swung Harry back up into his arms, causing the boy to giggle again and they headed for the door.

Later as he watched Harry play, he thought that he was sure he'd be okay. He had to be for his son.

I know this chapter was purely Cole centered but, hey, I like Cole and I thought he got a raw deal on the show.


	3. Chapter 3

_"You alright?" A voice spoke up from beside her and Phoebe turned to see the image of Piper's current choice of glamour._

_Phoebe only hesitated for a second. "Yeah…yeah, I'm fine."_

Xxxxxxxxxx

Phoebe stood hesitantly outside the door. She'd planned this out carefully, making sure this was where he was and that she would see through whatever magic he was using.

She could have just left him alone. It had been two and a half years since but he was in San Francisco. She had to be sure…she had to.

After a few minutes, she finally got up the nerve to knock on the door. He answered after only a minute and, despite the fact that she'd been expecting it, she froze at the sight of him. It had been so long.

He was, of course, as handsome as ever.

"Can I help you?" He asked in that same smooth, deep voice that she had both loved and hated at different points in her life.

Phoebe fidgeted with her purse for a moment and chewed her lip before finally giving up. "Yeah." Without waiting any longer she ducked under his arm and walked into his apartment, turning. She didn't wait for his protest at her invasion, instead she muttered a silent spell and the glamour she had on her faded, at least in Cole's eyes.

Cole stared, shock evident in those blue eyes. "Phoebe…you're alive."

"Yeah…I guess you heard the news, huh?"

He simply nodded and closed the door. "How did you find out?"

"You were at the manor…for the memorial. I…bumped into you, had a premonition."

He nodded again and crossed his arms. "So, should I be expecting your sisters to come bursting in here as well with a vanquishing potion?"

"No…I didn't come here for that," she admitted.

"Then why are you here?" He seemed to have gotten over the shock of seeing her and she saw the flash of anger in his eyes.

"I came to…I needed to know…" She shook her head. "How did you survive?"

"You mean, how did I survive you killing me…again?" He asked with more than a hint of anger in his voice. "I didn't. Anything else?"

"Cole-"

"Phoebe, just go. If you're worried about me coming after you again, don't. If you're worried I'm still crazy, I'm not. I lost those powers when I died last time. I've been back for a while now and I haven't contacted you once. I'm doing what you asked me to do when I came back from the wasteland. So leave."

"It's not that simple. After everything that's happened…why are you still in the city, Cole?"

Cole's glare strengthened at the suspicion in her voice. "Not everything in my life is about you anymore, Phoebe. I made a promise that I intend to keep."

"A promise to whom?"

"Sorry, honey." Cole shook his head. "You don't get to know that. We're out of each other's lives. That was your decision."

"So you blame me? You-"

"I'm not blaming you for anything," Cole interrupted her in frustration. "I know what I did. It doesn't change the fact that we haven't been together for a while. You don't get to come here and demand answers about my life anymore."

Phoebe looked away. "You're right." She hesitated a moment. "I've been moving on. It's not fair badgering you for doing the same."

"Can I expect one of your sisters rushing in here with a vanquishing potion?"

Phoebe let out a breath and shook her head. "No. I won't tell them."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "You're going to lie to your sisters?"

"Not lie. I just won't let them know that you're not really dead."

"Why?" He needed to know. He needed to know he and Harry would be safe in the city.

"Because I saw you. The premonition I got…it was very…enlightening. I believe you. I did before I came here."

Cole frowned at her. "Then why come here?"

"I don't know." Phoebe sighed. "I just-" She cut herself off, chewed her lip a moment. "I'm glad you're doing alright."

Cole stopped her with a hand on her arm and leaned in close. "Thank you," he said quietly.

A smile twitched her lips. "Yeah." She was gone, out the door a second later.

Xxxxxxxxx

Phoebe leaned against the door when she made it back to the manor, a sigh escaping her lips. Being around him had always affected her. It still affected her, even with the steps she had taken to move on. She supposed he always would.

She wasn't unhappy he was alive. She was feeling pretty much the opposite of that. The fact that he was out there, that he was doing alright…she was grateful for that. Most of the anger and hatred that had tainted the love she'd felt for him had faded since he'd died for the second time.

She was glad he wasn't dead and she hoped that he had a good life.

Xxxxxxxxx

Cole sighed when he sat down on the couch, rubbing a hand across his forehead. She still had an effect on him. He supposed she always would. He was happy she was alive. The feeling that had invaded his chest when he'd thought her and her sisters were dead was one that he did not like.

He supposed he would always love her too but he couldn't, wouldn't, go down that road again. She had promised to leave him alone. That had to be enough.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"Can we go there?" Harry's excited voice rang out and he tugged on Cole's hand.

Cole smiled and lifted the boy up into his arms, stopping at the the lion enclosure. It seemed he had found something that the kid liked. Harry seemed to have forgotten, at least for the moment, his usual shyness in favor of wonder at the animals at the Zoo.

Cole's encounter with Phoebe was pushed to the back of his mind by the happiness on Harry's face. He was grateful he had found something that did put that look on the boys face.

Xxxxxxxx

Panic. It was frantic and made his heart beat too fast and he asked every stranger he saw as he made his way through the crowds gathered at the exhibits. Next time, he would definitely be bringing Harry on a day it wasn't so crowded.

He'd lost Harry somewhere in between the tigers and the bobcats. He found Harry leaning across the railing and placing one small hand against the glass that separated him from a large boa constrictor. Cole scooped the boy up as soon as he made it over to him.

The relief he felt was almost strong enough to buckle his knees. "What do you think you were doing?" His voice came out harsh, harsher than he'd intended and Harry flinched at the tone.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, refusing to meet Cole's eyes.

Cole sighed at the look of fear painted plainly on the kids face. He had the urge to go find Harry's aunt and uncle again but suppressed it. Instead, he put a finger under the kid's chin and lifted his head.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, alright? Have I ever hurt you?"

Harry shook his head, eyes wide.

"But you can't go running off like that," he said firmly.

Harry nodded and wrapped his arms around Cole's neck. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

And Cole had never been too sentimental but he couldn't help it when Harry looked at him like that and called him that.

"Alright. How about we head out? Tomorrow you can tell all your friends at school about the animals."

At the words, some of Harry's excitement came back. "I talked to the snake!"

"Oh, you did, did you?" Cole asked in amusement.

Harry nodded and then frowned a little. "He's sad cause he can't go home."

"He is? Where's his home?"

Harry rambled on about the conversation he'd had with the snake as they made their way out and Cole's smile only widened at the kid's imagination. At least that was one thing his aunt and uncle hadn't been able to stamp out of him.


	4. Chapter 4

_He was running. He wasn't sure what he was running to and it didn't matter. What mattered was what was behind him. He could hear the other behind him, could hear that cold voice taunting him. _

_His legs felt numb, his chest tight and he tripped. He scrambled forwards, turning as he did so and the shadowed figure moved closer, too close. All he could see were those eyes, those inhuman eyes. And there was a word, hissed out and then the green light. _

_"Harry!" A hand gripped his shoulder, too tight and he jerked-_

"Harry!"

He came awake with a start, for a moment, disorientated until he took in the concerned grey eyes staring down at him and the fact that he was in his bed. It was a dream…just a dream.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dad," he answered automatically, sitting up when his dad drew back to allow him space to.

The man raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Sure about that?"

"Yeah…just a bad dream."

"Alright…well, better get up. You're going to be late for school."

Harry nodded, shaking off the lingering effects from the dream before he got out of bed. He rubbed his forehead after his dad left the room, could have sworn he'd felt some sort of phantom pain there but had no clue where that could have come from.

Stretching, he glanced around the room. He grimaced slightly. It was kind of a mess. He was sure that his dad was going to give him hell about that later. Going over to his dresser, he pulled out some clean clothes and headed towards the bathroom.

Xxxxxxx

At fifteen, Harry was well aware that he was not a normal boy. Of course he wasn't. He probably wouldn't be normal in any world. He had never minded though. Normal was kind of overrated, he figured. Normal meant he wouldn't have the dad he had, he wouldn't be learning the things he did.

He found his dad in the kitchen and wrinkled his nose at the burnt smell. He walked over just as his dad was getting rid of whatever it was he was cooking.

"Still trying that?" He asked, amused. Every once and a while, the man would get it into his head for some reason. Harry was only grateful that he hadn't burned anything down yet.

"I was experimenting," was the answer he received with a shrug.

Harry only grinned and went to the cabinets to find some pop tarts. Despite the fact that it had been over ten years since Harry had first come to live with the man, Cole Turner looked exactly like he had on that day.

Of course, officially, he wasn't Cole Turner any longer and hadn't been since that day. But Turner or Depew…whatever last name he used, he was exactly normal either.

"Alright, I'm gone." Harry pocketed the pop tarts, and waved a goodbye on his way out the door.

Xxxxxxx

"You're coming right?"

"Coming where?" Harry asked distractedly as he made it out the door of school after the last bell had rung. One of his friends, Danny, had caught up with him.

"To the party…Friday night. Zach's place?"

"Oh, yeah, maybe." Harry scanned the parking lot and frowned when he caught sight of a boy near the sidewalk on his bicycle.

"Come on. Stephanie will be there."

Harry fought not to grimace at the mention of this. Stephanie was the girl that sat next to him in English. She'd been giving him looks for a bit but Harry really wasn't interested. Not that he'd told anybody that. It wasn't Stephanie. She was nice enough Harry just wasn't really interested in any girls.

"I'll think about it," he told Danny before making his way over to the boy on the bike. He stopped in front of the boy, a frown on his face.

"What are you doing here?" This was probably the first time the other boy had shown up outside the school like this.

"I need to talk to you," he said, biting his lip and looking even more anxious than he usually did.

"Alright, let's go."

Xxxxxxxxx

Harry had known Christopher Halliwell since he'd been nine. They'd met at a park near where Harry and Cole had been living at the time. Some older kids, kids Harry's age, had been messing with the younger boy and Harry, not even sure why at the time, had stepped in.

They'd been friends since. Harry had never questioned it, despite the fact that Chris was a bit younger than him. There was just something about the younger boy that he'd always liked.

Now, he walked beside Chris, who was pushing his bike. Chris seemed nervous about something but that had become the norm as of late.

"What happened?" Harry asked, when they were far enough away from the high school.

"I had another one of those dreams," Chris admitted, chewing his lip and dropping his head so that his hair fell over his eyes.

"What was this one about?" Harry asked warily. The dreams. Harry was well accustomed to nightmares himself but his were all just that. Nightmares. Weird and disorienting and jumbled. Chris' dreams were different, at least from how the other boy had described them.

"Mom," Chris finally answered simply. .

"What about her?"

Chris hesitated before he mumbled his answer. "She kicked me out."

"What?"

Chris' head snapped up and his eyes were wide and frightened. "I don't know what I did! But she kicked me out. She told me to leave and not come back. She looked so angry."

"But…Chris, look, I know you're theory about them but they have to just be dreams. Your mom would never kick you out."

"She looked different," Chris said after a moment.

"Different how?" Harry pressed him. He was willing to do what he could to convince Chris that his dreams were just that-dreams. No matter how vivid they were or real they felt.

"She looked…younger, I guess."

"Younger?" Harry crossed his arms. "Well, there. You see? So, you can't be seeing the future then." That had been one of Chris' worries over the dreams. That maybe he'd inherited some form of one of his aunt's premonition power.

"Maybe you should talk to your mom and dad about them." He'd made that suggestion before and, just like the last times, Chris shook his head frantically.

"I can't."

"Maybe they could help. You shouldn't keep this from them any longer. You should tell them."

"You mean like you told your dad about the snake thing?" Chris countered, giving him the same look.

Harry grimaced and shook his head. "That's different." And he had told his dad once about it. When he'd been little and hadn't realized what it was he was doing.

"I still can't tell them," Chris said stubbornly, refusing to back down on the subject. Harry knew why. It wasn't because of some dream about his mom kicking him out. It was the ones he'd had about his older brother Wyatt that had him refusing to tell.

"Okay, fine," Harry relented with a sigh. He hesitated a moment. "You wanna sleep over tonight? I've got a lesson with Dana right now but you could come over later."

Chris visibly brightened at the offer. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Yeah." Harry waved it away.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Cole Turner was only half the reason that Harry could never be considered normal. The other half belonged to his mother, who he had never met, or at least didn't remember at all. She was the reason that Harry went straight home after his normal school day, only to start a lesson with Dana Burrow, the woman who had taught him everything about the wizarding world and how to use that side of the magic that his mother had passed along to him.

She'd taught him the difference between the magical world that Chris and his family half resided in and the wizarding world that his mother had. The different types of magic.

Harry was aware of several facts. One of which was that the name on his original birth certificate was Harry Potter. Another was that there were probably people in the wizarding world that were still looking for him and that it had taken years for Cole to find someone willing to teach him that wouldn't turn him over.

Harry had to wonder sometimes just what Cole had told Dana in order to get her to agree to it but neither of them ever said. Cole had told him that the main reason why they'd be searching for him was because of some dark wizard that had attacked him when he'd been a baby.

At first, Harry hadn't understood why Cole would go to such great lengths to hide him. But he figured that, if they did find him, he might not be allowed to stay with Cole. Cole was a demon, after all and Harry had never protested the protection for fear of being taken away from the man.

Dana was a good teacher anyway and, for the most part, his lessons went pretty smoothly.

Xxxxxxxxx

Harry was nodding off against his headboard when Chris orbed straight into his room. The older boy jumped and then glared at him.

"I told you not to do that."

"Sorry," Chris mumbled. Harry sighed at the dejected look on his face and scooted over, settling down on the bed.

"Get in," he ordered and Chris immediately followed it, climbing into the bed beside Harry. Harry fell asleep pretty quickly, his breathing evening out a few minutes after Chris had stilled.

Chris watched him sleep for several minutes. His thoughts went to those dreams and how weird it had been with his mom after he'd gotten home earlier. He felt tears sting his eyes and angrily wiped at them.

Rolling over, he snuggled in closer to Harry. If anybody could keep those dreams away, it was Harry.


	5. Chapter 5

_The knife sank easily into his abdomen and he felt the pain bloom instantly. So intense that it took his breath. The man wielding the weapon was speaking but he didn't hear it and he fell to his knees as soon as the man was gone. _

_He curled into himself on his side, clawing at the carpet at the agony. The cry wouldn't make it past his lips. He needed someone…something…could only think of one thing. _

_"Dad." It was mumbled first as he struggled to get his breath back. _

_"Dad!" _

_"Chris!" _

Chris jerked awake with a gasp. He squeezed his eyes shut a moment, his heart hammering in his chest. The dream, like all the others, had been so vivid. So vivid that he'd been able to feel that pain.

"Chris?"

Chris jerked in surprise and almost fell off the bed. Harry was sitting up, a worried look in his eyes.

"You alright?" Harry asked warily, watching him with a frown.

"I'm fine," Chris answered automatically, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"You were calling for your dad," Harry revealed. "What was this one about?"

"I'm not sure," Chris mumbled. "Someone stabbed me and I just remembered calling for Dad."

Harry sighed. "It's something different every time, right? I mean, your brother attacks you, your mom kicks you out, you get stabbed…"

"Yeah."

"Chris, these aren't some sort of premonitions like you thought before-"

"But they aren't just nightmares either," Chris cut him off, frustrated.

"Then it's something you have to talk to your parents about. What if someone's trying to mess with your head?"

"I can't," Chris replied stubbornly. "You know I can't."

"Chris-"

"No. I'm not telling them about this."

Harry huffed. "Fine." He paused, thought for a moment. "What about my dad?"

"What about him?"

"We could ask him." Harry chewed his lip.

"What would he know about it?" Chris asked with a sigh, dropping back on the bed. "He's just a lawyer right?"

Harry chewed his lip and hesitated before he answered. He even felt that familiar guilt, guilt that he felt every time Chris told him something that he didn't tell anybody else.

"Well…my dad's…" He hesitated again but Chris looked absolutely miserable and he hated that. And he'd been debating with himself over telling Chris for a while, feeling guiltier for not telling him the more time went by.

"What?" Chris lifted his head.

"My dad's magical," he finally admitted.

"What?" Chris' eyes went wide. "You're dad's magical?" The surprised look in his eyes turned rather quickly to betrayal. "Is he a witch? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because…" Harry looked down, couldn't meet Chris' gaze any longer. "I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Anger colored Chris' tone now and Harry winced.

"Afraid of what you would think," he admitted. He forced himself to look up and meet Chris' eyes.

"What I would think?" Chris repeated. He still sounded angry and Harry twisted his fingers in the sheets.

"Your mom and aunts are the charmed ones, Chris! And you and your brother and cousins are going to take over for them when you get a little older-"

"And I told you all that even though I'm not supposed to tell anyone," Chris interrupted him. "You told me about the wizard thing. You even told me how you and your dad are hiding out. Why would you keep the fact that your dad's magical from me?"

"Because he's not a witch," Harry revealed, his stomach doing a nervous flip. "He's half demon." He looked up in time to see Chris draw back in shock.

"Your dad's a demon?"

"He's only half demon!" Harry said quickly, fear squeezing his insides. "He's not a bad guy, never has been. You know that. You know him too."

"Your dad's half demon," seemed to be the only thing Chris could say.

"But he's half human too and he's not-"

"I have to go," Chris blurted out suddenly, scrambling off the bed and refusing to look at Harry.

"Chris-" He was cut off this time when Chris orbed out of his room. Harry stared at the spot Chris had just been. He tried to blink back the tears but a few fell anyway and he angrily wiped at them.

That was about the time he heard his dad speaking on the phone in the other room and the sadness and anger at himself gave way to fear yet again. He jumped off the bed and ran into the other room.

"Dad!" He yelled. Cole was just pocketing his cell phone when Harry stopped short in front of him, and he gave Harry a startled look.

"What's wrong?" He looked worried a second later when he noticed the tear tracks.

"I told Chris!" Harry practically yelled. "I'm sorry, Dad. But I didn't want to keep things from him anymore. It was stupid and I'm sorry-"

"Harry." Cole placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Calm down."

"But what if he tells his mom? What if they-"

"Everything'll be fine. Chris is your best friend, isn't he? He won't tell. And even if he does…I'm sure I can convince the girls not to do anything drastic. I've already convinced one of them, after all."

"What are you talking about?"

Cole grimaced and it was his turn to look guilty. "There's some things I need to talk to you about."

Xxxxxxxxx

"Chris traveled back through time." Harry's lips felt numb as he repeated the words. It was the only thing he could focus on from the story Cole had just told. Not that he'd known Chris' mom and aunts, and _dated _one of them.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Cole said. "I didn't want to tell you about it until I had to."

"Why not?" Harry demanded. He hadn't cried since he'd been six but, for the second time in the same day, he had to blink back tears.

"Because of the things he told me."

"What kind of things?"

Xxxxxxxxx

Chris sat on the stairs in the manor, his leg bouncing. He wasn't sure how to feel. He'd been sitting on the stairs since orbing back home. He was angry, angry that Harry had kept something so vital from him when the other boy knew pretty much everything about him.

But there was something else too. He couldn't quite believe that Harry's dad was a demon…half demon. He'd always been taught that demons were nothing but evil, that they didn't have souls. He liked Cole.

Cole was nice and funny and he loved Harry. Chris was so very sure of that. Plus, he'd never met a half demon before. His mom had told him that demons didn't have souls and that's why they didn't have a conscious but if Cole was half human…

Harry had looked so afraid when he'd told Chris. And suddenly, Chris felt guilty. He'd known both Cole and Harry for years. He stood then. He had to go see Harry. Not wanting to wait, he orbed straight back to Harry's room. He frowned when he found Harry there, face down on his bed, head buried in his pillow.

"Harry?" He called a little timidly, afraid of the response he would receive after the way he'd bailed on Harry earlier.

Harry jumped and sat up and Chris felt even worse when he saw that Harry had been crying. He'd never seen Harry cry before. Harry didn't yell at him or tell him to leave, though. Instead he launched himself at Chris and pulled him into a tight hug.

Chris returned it. "I'm sorry."

Harry didn't answer, just clung to him tighter and Chris pulled them down so that they were lying on the bed. Harry did not loosen his grip until he eventually dozed off. Chris didn't move away from him afterwards. He didn't want to.

He and Harry were still wrapped up in each other when Chris finally fell asleep as well.

_The room was dark. So dark, in fact that Chris couldn't see the walls. Or maybe it was just endless. It was possible. This was a dream, after all. He felt it instantly, knew instantly. He was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, in the middle._

_"I'm sorry." _

_The voice, hoarse and weak, but oh so familiar, startled him and he gave a startled gasp at the figure that had very suddenly appeared in front of him, also sitting. Chris stared. The boy in front of him was older, although not too much older. _

_His clothes were stained and torn, his hair disheveled and dirty. There were bruises on his face and shadows under his eyes. And the stains on his clothes…Chris was horrified to realize it was dried blood. _

_"I'm sorry," the figure repeated. "You weren't supposed to remember this." _

_"Remember what?" Chris' voice trembled as he asked, as he stared at this blood stained version of himself. _

_"Maybe it's my fault, maybe someone's punishing you for the things I did. Maybe it's just what I did. Maybe I just didn't fully understand what I was doing. Messing around with the past has to have consequences, right?" _

_"What are you talking about?" _

_But the figure was already fading, his surroundings growing even darker. _

_"I'm sorry," he heard one last time before the darkness of the room engulfed him. _


	6. Chapter 6

"Chris." Harry pressed his back against the wall and narrowed his eyes, watching across the open space to where Chris was doing the same. Harry had his wand gripped firmly in one hand and he was angry enough and frustrated enough to forget, at least for the moment, that he probably should use the one power he'd gotten from Cole to get both he and Chris out of there.

_Well? _Harry pressed the younger boy silently when their eyes finally met.

_Plan B, right? _

_You're having way too much fun with this._

_About to have more. _There was a smirk on Chris' face that only served to fuel Harry's anger. Harry only hesitated a second before he rolled out from his hiding space and instantly put up the strongest shield he could.

The energy balls the demons threw bounced off the shield initially but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up long. However, Harry didn't have to as Chris had rolled out next to him as well. Harry kept his focus on the shield as Chris brought both his hands up, palms facing in and then slowly curled his fingers into fists.

The energy balls stopped as the demons choked, clawing at their own throats, at the invisible force Chris was using on them. Harry dropped the shield, and watched, stunned for a moment before he sent two reducto spells at the demon's while they still choked, watched as they disappeared in flame.

"Well, that was a nifty spell," Chris commented, tapping his skull. Harry was glad he'd found that spell. At least with that spell, Chris would sometimes listen to him, even if it was only that he couldn't block Harry out when they were practically in each other's heads.

Harry glared at him. "Yeah, well, just be glad I found it. I think it's saved your ass twice now, hasn't it?"

Chris only rolled his eyes. "Come on." He grabbed Harry and orbed them both out, directly back to the attic of Chris' house.

"Whoa. Okay, what the hell, Chris?"

"Relax," the younger boy said, making his way over to the book. "Nobody'll be home for hours."

"Right. Of course not. And they all think you're at school. You know, at some point, I think the school will probably start calling people. You know, after you decide to ditch one too many days…"

"Uh huh." Chris wasn't paying attention to him, instead flipping through the book and Harry let out a frustrated sigh.

"I've never seen you do that before," Harry said quietly, placing a hand on the book to gain Chris' attention.

"Do what?"

"The choking thing." In fact, the past couple of months, Harry had seen Chris do a lot of things he'd never done before.

"I remember doing it," Chris stated, not meeting Harry's gaze. He stared off a moment. "I remember Wyatt doing it."

"On who?"

"Me," was Chris' simple answer. Judging from the look in his eyes, though, Harry doubted that situation had been. And, once again, Harry was struck with how strange this all was. He didn't know Wyatt well but, from the few times he had met Wyatt, he couldn't really imagine that polite, overly cheerful guy to do something like that.

"Alright." Harry closed the book. "No more demon fighting." He glanced at his watch. "I've got a better plan."

Xxxxxxxx

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Chris had to yell over the music as Harry drug him through the crowd.

"Why not?" Harry only turned briefly to look at Chris. The glamour he'd cast had worked rather well. He'd looked into the mirror earlier and seen a man ten years older than himself. Chris hadn't grumbled too much about it, even if he was somewhat reluctant.

Harry understood the reluctance. Chris' mom and aunts had lectured him a lot about 'personal gain'. And if Harry had Chris' type of magic, he might have worried about it. But he didn't and the wizarding world, from everything Harry had seen of it, didn't follow the same rules.

He'd seen spells to help clean a house, cook a meal, and clean the dishes. Spells to transfigure clothes, to change a person's appearance and even erase another's memories. Apparently wizarding families used all those household spells to make their lives easier, without the backlash that Chris often talked about happened with his type of magic.

"This isn't a good idea," Chris said, this time not as a question. He was on edge, had been for months.

"I know," Harry conceded, even as he pulled Chris out onto the floor. "But we're teenagers. We're aloud to have stupid ideas. We're also aloud to have fun."

Xxxxxxx

"Where have you been?"

Chris winced a bit at his mother's loud, angry voice but didn't turn to her, instead opting for making his way to the stairs. "I was…out."

"Out." She moved to block his path, hands on her hips. "I got a call from your school today. You've been skipping class."

"It's not a big deal," Chris mumbled, blinking at her. He'd never drank before but he'd somehow ended up with a few after getting separated from Harry in the crowd.

"Chris…" Piper leaned close to him. "Have you been drinking?" She asked incredulously.

"It doesn't matter," he snapped at her and tried to push past.

"I'd say it does matter." She stopped him again, and even after the alcohol, he could see the concern under the anger. "What the hell is going on with you, Chris?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing, right. Skipping class, staying out late. Do you have any idea how worried I was tonight? You've been acting different for a while now and you refuse to talk to me or your father-" She reached for him then and he stumbled back, away from her.

There was a flash of a memory. Her, standing in front of him, angry and-_Get out of my house. _And Chris couldn't stay any longer. He orbed out without another word, with Piper calling after him.

Xxxxxxxxx

Harry was pacing, glancing at his watch every couple of minutes. He shouldn't have taken Chris out. He'd lost Chris somewhere in the crowd at the club. It had been stupid but Chris had been so tightly wound since those dreams had started.

So, maybe trying to take Chris to blow off some steam hadn't been the best solution. Chris still refused to tell his family what was going on, though, and Harry had no idea what else to do.

He'd turned on his heel, content to simply pace when Chris orbed in directly in front of him. "Hey," the younger boy said.

"Hey," Harry answered back. He studied Chris' expression. "So, let me guess. You didn't take my advice and tell your parents that you were sleeping over at a friend's."

Chris winced. "Orbed in right in front of my mom." He sat down on the bed. "You get into any trouble?"

Harry shrugged. "No." He hadn't made it in past the curfew Cole had offered up when he'd turned sixteen after all. Plus, _he _hadn't been drinking.

"Look, Chris…about these dreams. There's something I thought we could try-"

"Later, alright? My mom's pretty pissed and she might even try summoning me. Can we talk about it later?"

"Alright."

Chris nodded and lay back on the bed. Harry only hesitated a second before lying down beside him.

Xxxxxx

Chris was right, of course. His parents had lectured him, tried to get him to talk to them, and grounded him but Chris still couldn't seem to tell them. At some point, when Piper was looking at him with nothing but worry and pleaded with him to tell her what was going on, he wasn't even sure why he couldn't just tell her.

His very worst dream occurred just a week after his parents had let him off the grounding.

Xxxxxx

_She was dead. There was a part of him, even at fourteen, that knew that even as he pleaded with her to get up. The demon was still there, the one she hadn't managed to kill but he ignored it. He couldn't care, really. _

_"Mom…" There was blood on his hands. Her blood. She'd crashed through the glass table. Her eyes were open. The demon was grinning but he didn't notice. The demon advanced and he still didn't notice. _

_He didn't even notice it when Wyatt orbed in and vanquished the demon before it could do any more damage. Chris leaned forward, put his arms around his mother's neck and he screamed. _

Chris woke with a start, to someone shaking him and he stared up into the concerned blue eyes of his older brother. After a moment, he squeezed his shut, tried to get the images to disappear but it didn't work.

"Chris?" Wyatt's voice held concern but when he squeezed Chris' shoulder, Chris scrambled up and away from him. "What's wrong?"

Chris shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his face, unsurprised when he realized he'd been crying. "Nothing."

"That's a lie," Wyatt stated with a frown. "Chris, I…you've been avoiding me."

"No, I haven't." Still, he took several steps back when Wyatt advanced on him, unable to help the memory of an older Wyatt with longer hair, of Wyatt closing his fist and cutting off Chris' airway.

"Chris…" Now, Wyatt sounded pained and Chris blinked back more tears.

"I'm sorry," he said, then orbed out, back to a familiar place, to the only person who knew what he was going through.

Xxxxxxx

"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked, eyeing the spell that Chris had been telling him about.

"I have to do something. I can't deal with it this way."

"Yeah but this'll just-"

"Hopefully make it easier to deal with," Chris cut him off.

"Why not just erase it all?" Harry suggested but then winced at his own suggestion, knew that wouldn't work even before Chris said anything.

"Even if I erase what I've already seen, there's probably still a lot of stuff I haven't yet. Besides, these kinds of spells are iffy. I've heard too many stories from my mom and aunts about how they've backfired on them. But this…this seems like the safest."

"And you're not gonna consult your mom or aunts about it before you try it out?"

"No," Chris answered, resolute.

"Alright. But, still, Chris. Seeing it all at once…?" Even if the spell might take away the sting, it would still undoubtedly be overwhelming.

Chris did not answer that. Instead, determined, he chanted the spell he'd written for this specific purpose.

_Memories of another life_

_Come now and settle here_

_Without the pain or the strife_

_Without the nightmares and the fear_

Perhaps, if Chris had consulted his family, he might have figured out that he should have specified who the spell was intended for, or he might have gotten the advice that such spells could affect, not just him, but everyone in the room. Because…

"Whoa." Harry had a moment of dizziness, a weird floating feeling and then his eyes slipped shut and he saw _everything. _

Xxxxxx

Yes, yes. I suck at writing spells. And I'm very sorry it took me so long to update this one.


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter contains slash. Also, everything in italics is stuff from the unchanged future.

Xxxxxxx

_"We're stuck." Harry scowled even as he said the words, glancing out the crack in the door. He'd seen the demons already though and he knew they wouldn't be able to orb or shimmer, not without them tracking it. _

_"They'll give up eventually," Chris commented from where he was leaning against the wall in the tiny space they had chosen to hide in. He had a hand pressed to his side, where he'd taken a glancing blow from a fireball. _

_"Good thing they didn't see who we were," Harry commented, moving over to him and taking off the small pack he always carried with him whenever they went out of the safe house lately. He pulled down the hood of the jacket he'd worn._

_"Yeah," Chris said, grimly. Wyatt was obsessed with finding Chris, had been since Chris had escaped him the last time and if the demons had gotten a good look at them, and had called Wyatt, they'd both be screwed. _

_"Let me see," Harry said. _

_"It's not bad," Chris stated but he still lifted his shirt for Harry. He was right. It wasn't life threatening or anything but Harry still grimaced at the burn and took out the salve from his backpack. He'd gotten good at making the stuff, and at a few minor healing spells, since he'd joined Chris in this fight. He rubbed the stuff gently into the wound before letting Chris drop his shirt again. For several seconds he didn't move before he leaned forward and kissed him gently. _

_"I love you," Harry said. _

_Chris smiled. "Love you too." _

Harry woke with a start, sitting up, an almost painful gasp escaping him. He sat, breathing as if he'd been doing something strenuous for several seconds before he noticed the other person across from him, sitting up as well.

"Chris…" His tone was soft, astounded.

"Harry?" Chris' voice trembled a bit, and then they were moving, scrambling over to each other. Chris crashed into him with enough force to knock him backwards again and his lips found the other boys.

Harry's arms went around Chris, dragging him closer, even as he deepened the kiss. When he pulled back finally, they were both breathing hard and Harry reached up to run a hand through Chris' hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

"Chris." For a moment, he was twenty four years old again, and the old memories that Chris' spell had brought up blocked out the ones he'd gained when Chris had changed the future.

"It's so…strange," Chris said after a moment, taking in Harry's features.

"Yeah," Harry agreed before kissing the other boy again. "I can't believe what you did worked."

Chris nodded, chewing on his lip a moment. He didn't move away from Harry, however. The other memories were coming up too, tangling in with the memories he'd gained from the spell. He saw Harry squeeze his eyes shut and figured the same thing was happening to him.

"Let's go," Chris said, grabbing Harry's hand and standing up. "I can't be around my family right now." Harry nodded and Chris orbed them both out.

Xxxxxxx

_"You're lying." Harry blurted the words out without really thinking about them first, glaring at Remus Lupin. It was the last day of school, the last day he had there. Tomorrow, he'd be headed back to the Dursley's. The man was leaving, and Harry had lost his chance to live with Sirius. All in all, he was not having the best end of term._

_"I'm not," Remus countered gently. "I simply…thought you should know. Considering…" _

_"Considering what?" Harry asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair. He figured he was looking pretty petulant but at that moment, he didn't care. Why was Lupin playing with him like this? Especially after what had happened with Sirius?_

_"Harry…I've noticed several things since we've met that have me concerned." _

_"Things like what?" _

_"Well…" Lupin hesitated and took a deep breath before continuing. "Harry…I don't want to push you but you agreed pretty quickly to live with Sirius, for example. Even though you had just met him." _

_"So?" But apprehension formed in his chest. He'd never intentionally hidden how his home life was. In fact, he'd let more than one thing slip to Ron, especially when they'd both been first years but it still wasn't something he wanted to talk about. _

_"So…I had thought maybe…" Lupin trailed off. "I can't take you in, Harry. And with Sirius still on the run…But maybe…" _

_"Maybe what? Some guy you _say _might have had a one night stand with my mum might want to?" Harry was back to glaring. He hated the insinuation to begin with. That his mother could have been with someone else when she was married to his dad. That someone else could have been his dad…_

_"I thought you should know," Lupin said, a little sadly. "And…I'm also…sorry. That I couldn't take you myself, that I wasn't there before. But…if you wanted me to, I could try and find him for you." _

_Harry stilled at this, and then opened his mouth to tell him no. To tell him that he didn't even believe this story to begin with but something stopped him. He blinked several times as he thought of it. He remembered the way that Sirius had looked at him in the brief time they'd had with each other. He'd never had an adult look at him like that. _

_"If…If you're telling the truth…" _

_"I am," Lupin said firmly. _

_Harry nodded, and then got up. He started to leave but turned at the last second. "If you can't find him…or he doesn't want…I don't want to know." Then he ran from the room. _

Harry stood at the edge of the bridge, starring out at the city, a conflicted look on his face. Both he and Chris had been silent for some time now, trying to sort through the memories. Memories of two separate lives.

Slowly, he brought up his hands and looked down at them. His sixteen year old hands. He was taller than he had been the first time he'd been sixteen, he thought. Taller, with a bit more meat on his bones because he hadn't spent so many years of his childhood living in a closet.

He frowned. Without Chris' interference it would have taken a lot longer for him and Cole to meet. He'd been thirteen the first time around, and it had only happened because of Remus. Remus had been the one to inform him. According to the man, he had been the one to go out to look for Lily Potter after an attack had left her with the false belief that James was dead.

Both Sirius and Lily had been inconsolable and Lily had done something when she'd gone out to a muggle bar. Lily had told Remus this, and Remus had kept it a secret, up until he'd found out about the treatment Harry had been receiving from the Dursley's. He couldn't take guardianship. Neither could Sirius. But he'd wanted to get Harry away from his mother's sister and husband and saw Cole Turner as the only way.

Harry blinked as he thought on it. The two separate lives really were separate. Completely different. All the people he'd known in his former life…Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione…

Then there had been the war. A war that had officially started when he'd been fifteen and the ministry had finally admitted their mistakes. A war that had ended, yes, with Voldemort's defeat but had also taken a good toll on the good side.

He wondered how different things were in the wizarding world with his presence there. Was Voldemort back yet this time around? Harry's fists clenched at his side. What was he supposed to do now? He had to go back didn't he? There was still that piece of Voldemort's soul, wasn't there? Inside him?

Harry nearly jumped when a hand touched his and he relaxed his fist finally to allow Chris to thread their fingers together again. He looked over at the other boy. Chris' gamble had paid off. He'd saved Wyatt. But there were still things they had to do.

"We'll do it together," Chris said.

"Not just us," Harry countered. "I need to go talk to Dad." He paused, hesitated but there really was no choice. "I think it's time you actually talked to your family."

And Chris nodded, didn't argue this time. He knew it too.

Xxxxxxxx

_"I won't do this." The stubborn refusal had been spoken by the seated sixteen year old more than once during the day and he glared at his older brother. _

_"Chris…you're not being reasonable." _

_"Reasonable?" Chris scoffed. "I'm not being reasonable?! How could you think this is right?" _

_"Right?!" Wyatt stood then, a scowl forming on his face. "Who cares if its right? You want to die too?" _

_"Why?" Chris countered. "Are you gonna kill me if I keep saying no?" _

_At this, Wyatt's eyes grew darker. "I'm doing this to protect you! To protect all of us!"_

_"By betraying everything Mom ever taught us?" _

_"Everything she ever taught us?" Wyatt mocked. "Where did all of that get her?" _

_Chris flinched and trembled a bit. "It wasn't your fault," he said quietly because he'd always known that was a part of this. It wasn't all that had done it but it was part of it. Neither of them had been able to save her. _

_"No, I wasn't even there," Wyatt said bitterly. "But I'll make sure. Mom had it wrong, Chris, and in the end it got her killed. In the end, they weren't powerful enough to stop it." _

_"So that's all that matters now? It doesn't matter that you've got demons working for you, that you're trying to take over the underworld-" _

_"Not trying," Wyatt cut him off, a humorless smile spreading across his face. _

_Chris stared at him, and felt like he might be sick. Wyatt's expression was resolved, dark, and Chris knew he was losing this fight. Chris gripped the sides of his seat. He couldn't give up, though. Not on this. Not on Wyatt. _

_"I can't. I won't. And I'm not going ever give up on making you see that this is _wrong."

Wyatt Halliwell was more than a little confused…and frustrated. Frustrated, mostly, with his younger brother. His younger brother that he had always been close to, at least up until lately. Lately, it hadn't been that way. Lately, Chris had taken to avoiding him as much as possible.

Wyatt knew Chris spent most of his time with a friend. He'd met the other boy before. His name was Harry and Wyatt knew he was Chris' best friend. But Chris and Harry had been friends since they were very young children and Chris had never blown off family for Harry before.

No, there was something else going on. Wyatt knew that his mother and father were frustrated and worried too. He'd seen that, and seen the way that Chris had been avoiding their parents as much as possible too.

So, he was a bit surprised when a knock came on his bedroom door and he opened it to find Chris standing there.

"Hey, Wy," Chris greeted with a small smile that did not reach his eyes, surprising Wyatt yet again with the use of a nickname he hadn't heard in a while.

"Hey." Wyatt backed up to let Chris in and his younger brother walked hesitantly forward. Wyatt frowned at his stance, at the way that Chris stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at him. There was some sort of wariness in Chris' eyes and something strange about him in general. He seemed…different.

"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked, his frown deepening.

"I just…I came to apologize." Chris ducked his head. "For the way I've been acting lately. It's not fair…to you, anyway."

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "You going to give this same apology to Mom and Dad?"

"Planning on it."

"What has been going on with you?"

Chris chewed his lip, and the look on his face turned imploring. "I need your help."

Wyatt studied his brother a moment but stepped forward. "You know I'd help you with anything you need."

This time, the smile did reach Chris' eyes. "I know."

Xxxxxxxx

_Harry was hardly aware that he was screaming, fighting against the hold, against the hands trying to keep him from jumping into the fight, trying to drag him out of the room. He didn't even look at the blonde man, at the monster that had thrown the potion. The potion, that was still reacting. _

_Harry met his father's eyes as the flames consumed him, still screaming. He felt it when Chris orbed them away and he had just enough time to see Cole disappear in a violent explosion before the room disappeared as well._

_He wasn't aware of where he and Chris landed, didn't care. He had stopped screaming but his stomach rolled and he was violently sick a moment later, until he was dry heaving. It was his fault. Cole had gone there to save his life. _

_ Chris held onto him as he cried and puked and hated himself. _

Harry shimmered straight into the living room of the house, startling his father with the action, who had been sitting on the couch, flipping channels on the television with a bored look on his face.

At the sight of Harry, however, Cole switched it off and stood. "Where have you been?" He asked with a frown. "I got a call earlier. You've been skipping school?"

Harry cringed. He'd been expecting that, ever since Chris had said that Piper had busted him for the same thing. "I've been with Chris."

Cole sighed. "Look, Harry, I get that you and the kid have-"

"I remember," Harry cut him off.

Cole paused. "What?"

"The other life…timeline…whatever? Chris used a spell and now I remember it."

Cole raised both eyebrows, surprised. "Oh."

"Yeah. I need your help."

Xxxxxxx

_He didn't cry when he first saw the bodies. Chris stood numb, still…and stared emptily down at his aunt and uncle. They stared vacantly back up at him. Slowly, he knelt beside Paige and reached out to close her eyes. _

_That was it then. His family was gone. And this time, it had been _because _of Wyatt. The numbness didn't leave at that thought. Later, he'd pick himself up, go back to the safe house, go back to Harry and he'd keep fighting. Later, he'd refuse once again to give up on his brother. But for those few moments, while he knelt next to the body of the last of the charmed ones, he gave up. _

"What is going on here, boys?" Piper asked, with some exasperation in her voice as she studied her two children. They were seated in the living room of the manor. She and Leo across from Wyatt and Chris.

"I don't know," Wyatt answered. "He wouldn't tell me until you guys were here to."

"Chris?"

When her youngest son lifted his head, the look on his face, in his eyes froze her for several seconds. "I remember," he stated.

"Remember what?" Leo asked, his tone concerned but Piper _knew_, even before Chris spoke again. It made perfect sense, now.

Chris turned his gaze on his father. "You remember when the girls fought the Titans?"

Leo paled and leaned back. "You remember…"

"I've been having these…dreams," Chris admitted. "I thought I was going crazy. They were…just too real. Too vivid. But now…now I know what they were."

"But…how?" Piper choked out.

"I don't…" Chris' expression was pained and she saw it then, how he looked different. His eyes were different. She remembered an older Chris, the young man that had been in his twenties and had come to the past to save them all. He'd always been guarded and he'd always had that quality about him, that his eyes were older than his years.

He'd never gone into detail about how his childhood had been. She'd known that she had died in that other timeline, that she'd died when he'd been young. And that he'd been fighting a war against his own brother. It had pained her then, to think on it. He'd never offered details and she'd never had the courage to press for them.

"Screwing around with that kind of stuff…gotta have consequences, right?" He paused. "Why didn't you tell me about it? I thought I was going insane, Mom…"

"Oh, honey…We just didn't want to hurt you."

Leo nodded. "What he went through…the things he saw…"

Piper winced and wondered if Chris had shared some of those details with Leo. "We just didn't want you burdened by all of that."

"But I've seen it all," Chris pointed out, his expression taking on a haunted quality that reminded her forcefully of the man that she had met years ago.

"What's going on?" Wyatt interrupted before Piper could respond.

Piper opened her mouth but couldn't force words out as she met the gaze of her eldest child. Wyatt. He was the main reason she and Leo had never told either of them about this. She did not want Wyatt to know the reason Chris had come back from the future.

"Mom, we have to tell him," Chris stated, stern and unwavering. "I need his help. Maybe yours too."

"Something serious?" Leo asked, concerned.

"Yes," Chris answered immediately. "In fact, it might be better if you call Phoebe and Paige too."

Piper took in her son's expression, how tense he was and knew her answer. She would never deny her son help when he needed it.

Xxxxxxxxx

_"You're going to do what?!" Harry sat up, the sheets falling to his waist and he stared at Chris incredulously. _

_"It's the only thing I can think to do." _

_"But…but it's not possible!" Harry nearly yelled the words._

_"It is. You've done it before, haven't you? Gone to the past?" _

_"That was different. We went back three hours, and even then we were in a sort of loop," Harry protested. "You're talking about going back to before you were born. You're talking about changing something drastic. And your kind of magic…It has so many consequences." _

_"I know." Chris sighed. He looked tired, exhausted even. "But I have to do _something."

_"Chris…this idea is insane, even for us." _

_"Yeah." Chris smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "But I need to save them. I need to save him." _

Harry watched his dad as the information he'd just dumped on the man sank in. "So, you want to go back?"

Harry nodded. "I think I need to." The sense of urgency was there, had been since he'd left the bridge. It had settled into his chest and refused to leave. He wasn't sure about some things that might come from it, mainly a confrontation with Dumbledore but he couldn't shake it off.

But the world was a different place now, and he figured the wizarding world might be too. His life had been so firmly entangled with Voldemort's the last time around that he wondered how different things could be.

There were so many things to consider. The diary…the stone…and the deaths. In his other life, he would have already watched Cedric Diggory and Sirius die, and he would have been just a few months from watching Dumbledore die as well.

Maybe it would be too late to save the old man, if he'd put the ring on in this world the same as he had before. But Sirius…Sirius' death had been his fault and he wondered if the man had lived without Harry around to lead him into dangerous traps.

"And you want the sister's help?"

Harry smiled a bit wryly. "Actually, Chris insisted on helping and I seriously doubt his mom would sign off on him leaving home alone to fight a war with me."

"Yes, well, I wouldn't either," Cole commented.

"But I really don't have a choice, not with that soul fragment still in _me._ And I figured…Look, Chris' mom and aunts, he and his brother…they're pretty much the most powerful beings on this planet. I need a way to get it out of me. Last time it was the killing curse."

Cole stiffened at that, and his eyes narrowed. "We'll not test _that _again," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Harry smiled a bit. "No, last time the only reason I even survived that was because of the ritual Pettigrew performed to bring Voldemort back when I was fourteen. You don't have to come with me. They don't even know you're alive, right?"

But Cole shook his head. "Now, you really think I'd let you go out and do this sort of thing on your own?"

Harry grinned. "You really okay with seeing them again?"

"Sure," Cole answered, standing. "But they _might _try and vanquish me on sight."

"Aw, don't worry, Dad. I'll protect ya," Harry said, moving to hug his father, that part of him, the twenty four year old part of him that had watched the man die once, reveling in it for a moment.

Cole only snorted in response but returned the embrace.

Xxxxxxxx

_"Where is he?" Harry asked, his own voice pained. Mike simply pointed towards the room that Chris had taken and didn't stop Harry when he started towards it. When he entered the room, Chris was asleep. Harry could see the evidence of the tears Chris had cried before falling asleep. _

_He shouldn't have been surprised. Two more people had died. Two more of Chris' family. And when the hell had he started thinking like that? That he shouldn't be surprised at the sudden death of someone they cared about? _

_He couldn't remember when that was. The last year of the war with Voldemort? The first year he'd joined this fight with Chris? He reflected idly that maybe he'd seen too much of it. Maybe that's all his life had been since he'd been fourteen and he'd seen Peter Pettigrew casually strike down a classmate. _

_Harry lowered himself down into the bed finally, wrapped himself around Chris. Maybe that's all they'd been doing, just fighting to survive. They'd both lost nearly everything. But he moved closer, and buried his face in Chris' hair. _

_No, he'd still fight for this. _

"I'll help you, Chris. You know I will, honey. But why? Why does he need to know?" Piper couldn't help the worried tone. She had dragged Chris away from the rest of the family to ask this.

"A lot of this stuff has to do with…_that_," Chris said, pained. "And…we can tell him what I told you at first."

She paused, and then nodded, glancing back towards the living room where Leo and Wyatt still sat. Chris wanted Wyatt there but he was giving her an out. She didn't have to tell her son that he had turned evil and murdered innocent people in another timeline. She could use the same line Chris had used when he'd first shown up in the past. That he'd been there to save Wyatt…

Chris leaned closer to her as she was contemplating whether or not the lie was a good idea or not. "First thing you need to know is that this is about Harry."

_That _gave her pause. "Harry? Your friend from school?" She asked, confused.

"He's a lot more than that," Chris admitted. There was a fierceness in his gaze then. A fierce sort of protectiveness. "I need to help him. I can't…"

Once upon a time, he remembered Harry being the only thing left he had to fight for. And he _would never _risk losing the other boy again.


End file.
